"Dragonite, huh."
Lucas slightly narrowed his eyes. Judging from its presence alone, this clearly was not Lance's ace Dragonite.
But even if it wasn't the ace, a Dragonite trained by Lance—its strength was beyond any doubt!
Two dragons hailed as pseudo-legendaries now faced each other in midair.
And the Silver Arena had already erupted into a frenzy!
"It's here, it's here, it's here! Salamence versus Dragonite!"
"Fat Dragon vs. Salamence! Ahhh! This is way too exciting!"
"Allow me to say it straight— Dragonite is invincible! Fat Dragon will definitely win!"
"Invincible my ass, get lost you brain-dead fanboy! Salamence is the strongest Dragon-type pseudo-legendary! No arguments accepted!"
"I'm laughing my head off—where did you get the nerve to call it the strongest?"
Mm. The forums were, as always, so heartwarming and harmonious.
…
"Dragonite and Salamence…"
Watching the two Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries confronting each other on the battlefield, Blue's eyes flickered slightly.
He had always believed that his current lineup was the most suitable for him—after all, his core team had been meticulously selected over the past two years.
But he had to admit that when it came to Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries, he really couldn't help but feel tempted…
"Honestly, it's really hard to predict the outcome. That Dragonite definitely isn't Champion Lance's ace, but I remember that Lucas's Salamence isn't among the top-tier of his team either, right?"
N analyzed while resting his chin on his hand. Since both Pokémon were Dragon/Flying-type, type advantages didn't really apply—it came down to raw strength and command ability.
"Mm. Even with Mega Evolution boosting its power, it's only evenly matched with that Dragonite for now,"
Zinnia nodded. Naturally, she hoped Lucas would win.
"It'll depend on how they perform."
On the battlefield.
"Alright—let's go."
Lucas glanced at Lance.
"Salamence, Hurricane!"
Mega Salamence roared skyward, its crescent-shaped blood-red wings beating violently. A terrifying gale erupted, sweeping across the sky and surging straight toward Dragonite.
"Hurricane,"
Lance ordered calmly.
He didn't take this kind of probing move seriously at all.
Dragonite's relatively small wings flapped continuously as a violent hurricane rose to meet it.
Hurricane collided with hurricane in midair. Wind pressure exploded outward, waves of force scattering in all directions, until the storms finally detonated and dissipated.
"Draco Meteor!"
"Extreme Speed!"
The commands of Lucas and Lance rang out almost simultaneously.
Mega Salamence reared its head and opened its jaws, launching an incomparably pure sphere of energy high into the sky.
The Draco Meteor—beautiful yet deadly, as though it contained the vastness of the stars themselves.
But in that very moment, taking advantage of the opening, an orange-yellow blur shot forward at blinding speed.
Dragonite's Extreme Speed!
Dragonite was already incredibly fast by nature, and with Extreme Speed amplifying it further, it became even more terrifying.
Even though Lucas warned Mega Salamence the instant he saw it, dodging at this point was still far too difficult.
Dragonite slammed heavily into Mega Salamence, the immense force sending the massive body staggering violently through the air.
"ROOOAR!"
Knocked back by Dragonite, Mega Salamence let out an enraged roar.
Dragonite roared right back, with not the slightest trace of the gentle temperament its species was known for.
"Blizzard!"
Lance shouted, pressing the attack.
Salamence, a Dragon/Flying type like Dragonite, suffered a quadruple weakness to Ice!
Even after Mega Evolution, this weakness remained unchanged.
A dense, frigid breath gathered in Dragonite's mouth. In the next instant, a raging ice storm surged forth, engulfing Mega Salamence.
"Heat Wave!"
Lucas immediately issued the counter-command.
"ROOOAAR—!"
Mega Salamence roared thunderously as blazing heat poured out, rushing straight toward the Blizzard.
Heat Wave and Blizzard clashed violently in midair. Ice and fire struggled against one another, the sky itself seeming to split into two halves—cold and heat colliding endlessly.
BOOM!
In the end, both attacks exploded simultaneously.
"As expected, it wouldn't be that easy,"
Lance's cold, sharp eyes flickered slightly. If Blizzard had landed cleanly, then even without STAB, it would have exerted tremendous suppression against Mega Salamence.
What a pity.
And besides—
"Dragon Dance!"
Lance glanced upward. Mega Salamence's Draco Meteor was about to come crashing down.
Dragonite retreated slightly, its body beginning to move in an ancient, mysterious rhythm.
Dragon Dance—boosting both speed and physical attack!
"As if I'd let it be that simple."
Lucas didn't hesitate in the slightest.
"Salamence, Dragon Rush!"
The area covered by Draco Meteor was indeed massive, but the falling trajectories were largely fixed. For a top-tier trainer like Lance, it wasn't difficult at all for his Pokémon to avoid the bombardment.
Mega Salamence beat its wings fiercely, sinister dragon-shaped energy rapidly condensing as it charged straight at Dragonite.
Its speed was astonishing!
"Dragon Rush!"
Lance's sharp brows furrowed slightly. As expected, Lucas wouldn't miss this opportunity.
But he had no choice but to face it head-on—dodging was impossible.
Mega Salamence was charging from the front, and Draco Meteors were raining down from above. Where could Dragonite possibly evade?
Dragonite halted its Dragon Dance, dark dragon-shaped energy condensing around its body as well.
Dragon Rush versus Dragon Rush!
The two ferocious dragons collided heavily in midair, a shockwave of terrifying force rippling outward.
"So, it can really match my Dragonite…"
Seeing Mega Salamence hold its ground against Dragonite, Lance began to calculate his next moves.
Dragonite excelled at close combat, but when even its proud Dragon Rush couldn't overpower this Mega Salamence—
Frankly speaking, this battle was shaping up to be far more difficult than Lance had anticipated.
The two Dragon-type pseudo-legendaries grappled fiercely, but to the audience's surprise, Dragonite's dragon energy seemed to be slowly getting suppressed by Mega Salamence!
"Ice Beam!"
Lance's eyes turned icy. This couldn't continue any longer…
Dragonite forced a full burst of power, violently shaking Mega Salamence away, and a twisting beam of icy light shot straight toward it.
Ice Beam!
"I already predicted this!"
"Salamence, Dragon Claw!"
Lucas's lips slowly curled upward. This exact scenario—he had foreseen it!
"What?!"
For the first time, shock appeared on Lance's usually cold, proud face.
Because he saw it—
Mega Salamence roared as it advanced instead of retreating, its claws glowing with sharp azure light. Its crescent-shaped wings folded forward defensively.
The ice-blue Ice Beam struck squarely against Mega Salamence's left wing. The freezing power of the beam instantly coated the wing in thick frost.
Mega Salamence's expression turned ferocious and twisted. Ice-type moves were simply far too effective against it.
Yet even so, Mega Salamence forcibly endured the agony surging from its frozen wing and swung its Dragon Claw down with full force!
The razor-sharp dragon claws slammed Dragonite backward—and right at the spot where it stopped, a Draco Meteor came crashing down!
BOOM!
The Draco Meteor struck Dragonite with a thunderous explosion. Before it could recover, two more meteors followed immediately, smashing into it one after another.
Dragonite wore a mask of pain.
Lance's eyes were icy, but this was still within acceptable limits.
Once Dragonite recovered, these injuries—serious as they were—wouldn't drastically affect its combat effectiveness.
"Heat Wave!"
Lucas decisively ordered Mega Salamence to press the advantage.
Intense heat surged from Salamence's body. Under the high temperature, the left wing that had been affected by Ice Beam rapidly returned to normal.
"Don't get too cocky! Dragonite—Dragon Rush!"
Lance said coldly.
"As expected of you, Lucas. You're always like this—catching people off guard with a sudden surprise,"
Steven sighed as he watched the momentum tilt in Lucas's favor.
This ferocious, decisive fighting style—hurting the enemy by a thousand even if it meant injuring oneself by eight hundred—he hadn't paid much attention to it before.
But if the opponent was Lucas, then it didn't feel strange at all…
Leon nodded in deep agreement. After all, he himself had suffered quite a bit because of it.
(End of Chapter)